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HIBB vs. ULTA: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Retail - Miscellaneous stocks are likely familiar with Hibbett Sports (HIBB - Free Report) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, Hibbett Sports is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Ulta Beauty has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that HIBB's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

HIBB currently has a forward P/E ratio of 9.93, while ULTA has a forward P/E of 85.46. We also note that HIBB has a PEG ratio of 0.72. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. ULTA currently has a PEG ratio of 12.96.

Another notable valuation metric for HIBB is its P/B ratio of 1.91. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ULTA has a P/B of 9.

These metrics, and several others, help HIBB earn a Value grade of A, while ULTA has been given a Value grade of C.

HIBB sticks out from ULTA in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that HIBB is the better option right now.


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